We have all seen the ads in regional newspapers / magazines and of course the web.
"Lawn Cutting Service starts as low as £8 per lawn" – Is this price realistic? Would you get a good job?
It can’t be disputed that you could probably get a small postage stamp lawn cut for around £10 but to be honest I would have to question who is doing it, are they a legitimate business or just doing it for cash and beer money?
Without going too deeply into the economics of running a business let’s just assume a few basic points:
If the business is a sole trader with no staff it wouldn’t be unrealistic to assume that he / she would need to turn over (this is not profit or wages) approx. £150 per day so he / she would have to mow 15 lawns every day at £10 per lawn to cover the £150.
If the grass cuttings are removed by the operator and disposed of at the waste station at an assumed cost of £50 - a third of the income has gone towards one of the direct operating costs.
So before allocating any other business expenses the net price of cutting the £10 lawn is now £6.67.
Each business will have their own level of business expenses, such as insurance, equipment servicing and replacement, fuel and vehicle costs, waste disposal licence, advertising, accountancy to name just a few.
Let’s assume that at the lowest level a small business would have to set aside £100 per week to cover these expenses and trust me this is very low! If the operation is run using a leased van and professional equipment this would probably be double!
So the sole trader would have to allocate at least £20 per day or £1.33 per client visit.
The net price is now £5.34 for actually cutting the lawn which is £80.10 per day before any tax deductions.
Whilst the hourly rate may appear attractive compared to say shop work, the sole trader doesn’t stop working when he / she gets home.There are the job schedules to prepare, book keeping and a host of other tasks required.
Setting aside money for non-work days (bank holidays,adverse weather, illness etc.) the sole trader would be looking at no more than £60 per day less tax and NI etc. And with the government soon to introduce compulsory private pensions this figure will reduce fairly substantially.
So we are therefore looking at £4 per lawn cut – it would probably be more cost effective if the sole trader flipped burgers for a living!
So what is a realistic price to mow a lawn? Every operator would have their own price and of course depends upon many factors –have a look at http://www.landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/fed-up-with-mowing-your-lawn to give you a better idea as to what is involved and some of the challenges.
If pushed on giving an “average price” without first viewing the lawn in question, I would suggest as a ball park figure only that £15 to £17 for regular mowing of an average sized lawn (approx. 80 square metres).This would include all labour and materials and disposal of the grass cutting.
However with the ever rising cost of fuel and other expenses not forgetting the VAT increase, £20 as a minimum wouldn’t be seen as unreasonable. £25 to £30 is probably a more accurate price if the business is to be sustainable.
Is £20 a lot of money? I appreciate that in today’s financial climate is could be viewed as a luxury but think about the saving and extra time it will give you, not to mention that beautiful well cared for lawn. Engaging the right lawn cutting company is more than just looking after your lawn and if spreading the cost over the year it is about £8 per week. Now isn’t that money well spent and affordable?
Like most businesses on the LJN, we always approach our business and our client base in a spirit of partnership. We will not enter at the cheapest price in the hope to simply win your business and then default on service at a later stage to ensure profitability. We will cost each service from a position of quality and sustainability, thus offering an appropriate and fair balance between cost, quality, and timeliness to ensure that you receive the service that you have paid, at a standard which you deserve.
If you would like to discuss your grass cutting requirements, please see our contact details at http://www.landscapejuicenetwork.com/profile/BGSLTD
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